STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Legislation that would protect Staten Islanders' resident toll discounts is halfway toward becoming law, after The Residential Toll and Fairness Act of 2010 unanimously passed the House of Representatives Tuesday, and a companion bill is now pending in the Senate.

"Residential discounts are essential to our ability to travel to and from work, and this bill will ensure that these discounts are protected for all Staten Islanders," said Rep. Michael McMahon (D-Staten Island/Brooklyn), who sponsored the measure.

"This bill will help protect toll and fare discounts not only for Staten Islanders but for commuters throughout New York and the nation who pay excessive toll burdens."

The resident discounts were in jeopardy due to a federal lawsuit related to a toll discount offered to residents of Grand Island, N.Y., between Buffalo and Niagara Falls, which argued such breaks are discriminatory to drivers who have to pay the full toll.

There was concern that the precedent set in that case, Selevan vs. New York Thruway Authority, could threaten similar discounts for Islanders who pay reduced tolls on the Verrazano-Narrows, Bayonne and Goethals bridges and the Outerbridge Crossing, as well as discounts afforded residents of other areas who are geographically dependent on the spans near them.

Resident discounts are not discriminatory, the bill states, but rather "address actual unequal and undue financial burdens places on residents of, or commuters residing in, certain jurisdictions that have no other way of accessing those areas other than through a means that requires them to pay a toll, user fee or fare."

The Constitution grants Congress the right to regulate interstate commerce, and the bill will allow Congress to authorize such resident and commuter discounts as constitutional, fair and necessary, protecting them from court challenge.

Another case, Janes v. Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority, is pending in New York state. That case challenges the constitutionality of the Staten Island resident discount at the Verrazano. That case was stayed while awaiting the outcome of Selevan. A similar case is also pending in Massachusetts.

"One of the few breaks we get is a residential toll discount when we cross over into Brooklyn or Staten Island. This bill will continue to ensure that Staten Islanders pay less to go to work, the airport and to travel throughout the region - and help us all keep more change in our pockets." McMahon said.